Blizzard Entertainment has announced that World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, the fourth expansion set for the popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, will be available in stores and online starting from September 25, 2012. Upon the expansion’s release players will be able to "set foot upon the shores of the long-lost continent of Pandaria and embark on a perilous journey to uncover its ancient mysteries." Blizzard is now accepting pre-orders for the upcoming expansion.

“Mists of Pandaria contains the biggest variety of new content we’ve ever created for a World of Warcraft expansion, with features that will appeal to new players, veterans, and everyone in between,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’ve received a lot of great feedback from players during our most extensive beta test yet, and we hope they enjoy exploring everything Pandaria has to offer when the expansion comes out in September.”

The Digital Deluxe version of Mists of Pandaria includes a full digital copy of the expansion along with the following exclusive in-game bonus items:

World of Warcraft In-Game Mount: Take to the skies of Azeroth astride the mystical Imperial Quilen flying mount.

World of Warcraft In-Game Pet: Journey across Pandaria with the Lucky Quilen Cub at your side.

Diablo® III Banner Sigil and Accent: Display your status as a hero of Pandaria with the iconic markings of World of Warcraft’s newest playable race, the pandaren.

The Collector’s Edition of Mists of Pandaria includes the full version of the game on DVD-ROM and contains the following exclusive bonus items, in addition to the in-game content from the Digital Deluxe version:

Behind-the-Scenes DVD and Blu-Ray: Learn about the creation of Pandaria with this two-disc set featuring over an hour of commentary, insider interviews, and developer roundtables.

In World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, warships of the Alliance and Horde clash off the coast of a long-lost continent, signaling the start of a new era of discovery and conquest in the history of Azeroth. As players storm the shores of this exotic new frontier and begin to explore its mysteries, they’ll encounter brave new allies, unearth ancient secrets, and play their part in reigniting the long-brewing conflict between the Horde and Alliance on a strange battlefield far from home.

Mists of Pandaria offers a wide variety of content for new and returning World of Warcraft players. Features include a new playable race (the pandaren) with its own starting zone and quests, a new character class (the monk), and an expansive new continent for players to explore as they adventure to the new level cap of 90. The expansion also includes a host of new gameplay elements designed to give players even more ways to enjoy the game, including scenarios -- a flexible new kind of cooperative PvE trial; challenge modes, which offer high-prestige rewards for mastering Mists of Pandaria’s 5-player dungeons; and an all-new pet battle system.

Mists of Pandaria will be available on DVD-ROM for Windows® XP/Windows Vista®/Windows® 7 and Macintosh® at a suggested retail price of $39.99 USD. The expansion will also be available digitally directly from Blizzard’s World of Warcraft website (www.WorldofWarcraft.com), also priced at $39.99 USD.

A special Collector’s Edition packed with bonus items will be available exclusively in retail stores for a suggested retail price of $79.99 USD. In addition, for the first time, World of Warcraft players have the option to purchase a special Digital Deluxe version of the expansion containing the in-game bonus items from the Collector’s Edition. The Digital Deluxe version is available to download directly from Blizzard via www.WorldofWarcraft.com for $59.99 USD. Players who purchase the standard edition digitally or at retail will have the option to upgrade to the Digital Deluxe version at any time (for as long as the standalone Digital Deluxe version remains available) for an additional $20 USD.

Presales for the standard digital and Digital Deluxe versions of Mists of Pandaria are now live. Players who would like to purchase either version and be ready to play the moment the expansion launches can do so now by visiting www.WorldofWarcraft.com. The expansion content will automatically be digitally delivered to pre-purchasers via World of Warcraft’s streaming launcher prior to the release of Mists of Pandaria. Players who would like to preorder the standard box or the retail-exclusive Collector’s Edition can do so by visiting their local retailer.

Mists of Pandaria has received a Teen rating from the ESRB. In addition to the English version, Mists of Pandaria will be fully localized into Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, European Spanish, Russian, Korean, Traditional Chinese, and for the first time with a World of Warcraft expansion launch, Italian. Availability of Mists of Pandaria in mainland China will be announced at a later date.

Mists of Pandaria will be available in both boxed and digital download forms. The standard edition will cost $39.99, while the Collector's Edition will cost $79.99. A Digital Deluxe version will also be available for $59.99.

Macgamestore.com has updated its catalog of games available for purchase with the addition of WarBirds 2012 from iEntertainment Network. The World War II combat sim gives players the chance enter the unfriendly skies above a variety of historical terrains in a choice of over 120 aircraft.

WarBirds 2012 is a brand new version of the world famous World War II combat flying, single player, and Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) simulation game, WarBirds, in continuous operation since 1995, with a brand new enhanced graphics engine, new special effects, new explosions, new aircraft, and other great new features.

WarBirds 2012 offers over 20 flight training missions, 12 instant action missions from Bomber Ambush to Rear Gunner action, and a Free Flight mode where the player can pick from 5 different combat modes, from Air to Air, Free Flight, Target Drones, Bomber Ambush, or Ground Attack. These Single Player missions can be flown over 15 different geographic terrains, and in one of over 120 different aircraft, from Spad VII to the F-86 Sabre Jet, all included in the simulation. Players choose one of three levels of pilot expertise: Rookie, Veteran, or the highly skilled Ace. As a special bonus, players can also experience World War II Armored Combat in the Armored Assault simulation and World War I Aerial Combat in Dawn of Aces, both included in WarBirds 2012 as bonus games.

WarBirds 2012 is the Single Player version of the world famous Massively Multiplayer Online Simulation game of World War II flying and aerial combat, WarBirds Online. Players who purchase WarBirds 2012 also receive a 14-day FREE trial in the aerial combat MMOG where players can compete in air-to-air action against other real players in online combat and join online squadrons. Players can go on raids with their squadron mates and participate in reenactments of many of the great air battles of World War II. WarBirds Online can be found at www.Totalsims.com. Players can learn how to fly historical aircraft, get FREE online flight training from live instructor pilots, and learn how to survive in a simulated combat environment with real combat flying skill in WarBirds 2012.

Features:

Continuous Success Since 1995: This is the brand new version of the World Famous WarBirds TotalSims series of games that have sold over 1 million retail games and deemed the “top of the online flight-simming pyramid”1 and getting many “Simulation of the Year” awards since WarBirds was introduced in 1995.

Single-player Action Combat: The Player is thrown right into the action with multiple geographical terrains, multiple mission types, and over 120 aircraft to fly and battle with. No looking for a battle for the player. WarBirds 2012 Instant Action brings the battle right to the player as soon as he takes off.

Complete Training Available: For new players, WarBirds 2012 provide a complete introductory training at game start and over 20 training missions in the Training Tab of the game simulation. And if the player wants a live instructor pilot to join him in his aircraft, he can come online and get live training using the FREE Teamspeak voice over IP system online. A player not familiar with real flying can be brought up to speed as a real fighter pilot with just a few hours of instruction. The player will then spend many hours trying to be an Ace and will be continuously learning to be a better and better fighter pilot!

Multiple Skill Levels for Beginners to Experts: Enjoy WarBirds 2012 as an arcade game or as a simulation. The arcade level is Rookie, which eliminates the spinning of aircraft, the blackouts and red outs, and gives the player big guns and a hardened aircraft with unlimited ammo. The player can move on to the Veteran level which has the settings, the ammo, the toughness of the online WarBirds game for a veteran flight sim player. In the Ace mode, the player had better be a great flier as any shots on his aircraft will bring him down. He has to out fly, out maneuver, and out shoot his enemies. Each level moves the player more and more to the ultimate simulation of real tank combat during World War II.

Historical Accuracy and Remarkable Detail: WarBirds 2012 dedicates itself entirely to the same remarkable historical accuracy and attention to detail that has made the WarBirds series one of the most visually impressive war sims ever.

A Wealth of Options: Players can choose from countless online scenarios, modes and options that gives WarBirds a stunningly deep playing experience. Pick from an array of WWII aircraft, each with its entirely unique combat characteristic and “personality,” making each game a new experience.

Online Play: Master the single player missions and training and you will be ready for the next step -- an awe-inspiring online community where upward of 200 players are battling. Play in the online arenas for Free for 30 days or join the TotalSims community arenas where hundreds of players recreate the actual missions of World War II. The TotalSims online community has consistently been rated one of the best and most helpful to beginners, providing a perfect environment for non-experienced and veteran players alike.

Requirements:

CPU Processor: Universal Binary, G4 or Intel Mac.

Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4.6 or later.

Video Memory: 512 MB RAM required, 1024 MB or higher recommended.

Hard Disk Space: 1.5 GB of free space

Joystick, mouse and keyboard. Throttle and Rudder pedals are recommended for Aviation Play.

Phime Studios' Ziggy Putts is available now for download and purchase from Macgamestore.com. The colorful golf adventure puts players in the role of a hedgehog named Ziggy who must avoid a variety of obstacles to putt a few golf balls.

Ziggy the hedgehog is living his interesting life on a golf course trying to putt a golf ball before the human golf players do.

Help Ziggy to avoid all obstacles on the golf course and safely roll a ball down a golf hole.

Features:

Move by rolling and jumping around

Pick up all the hedgehog food along the way for better score

Evade other inhabitants that live there

Use platforms and seesaws to transport yourself to the unreachable parts of the level

Yesterday Apple announced that OS X Mountain Lion, the ninth release of the OS, is now available as a download from the Mac App Store. 10.8 offers more than 200 new features including iCloud integration, the all new Messages app, Notification Center, system-wide Sharing, Gatekeeper, Dictation, AirPlay Mirroring and Game Center. Mountain Lion is available as an upgrade from Lion or Snow Leopard for $19.99.

“People are going to love the new features in Mountain Lion and how easy it is to download and install from the Mac App Store,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With iCloud integration, Mountain Lion is even easier to set up, and your important information stays up to date across all your devices so you can keep editing documents, taking notes, creating reminders, and continue conversations whether you started on a Mac, iPhone or iPad.”

With more than 200 innovative new features, Mountain Lion includes:

iCloud integration, for easy set up of your Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Messages, Reminders and Notes, and keeping everything, including iWork® documents, up to date across all your devices;

the all new Messages app, which replaces iChat® and brings iMessage™ to the Mac, so you can send messages to anyone with an iPhone®, iPad®, iPod touch® or another Mac;

Notification Center, which streamlines the presentation of notifications and provides easy access to alerts from Mail, Calendar, Messages, Reminders, system updates and third party apps;

system-wide Sharing, to make it easy to share links, photos, videos and other files quickly without having to switch to another app, and you just need to sign in once to use third-party services like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Vimeo;

Facebook integration, so you can post photos, links and comments with locations right from your apps, automatically add your Facebook friends to your Contacts, and even update your Facebook status from within Notification Center;

Dictation, which allows you to dictate text anywhere you can type, whether you’re using an app from Apple or a third party developer;

AirPlay Mirroring, an easy way to wirelessly send an up-to-1080p secure stream of what’s on your Mac to an HDTV using Apple TV®, or send audio to a receiver or speakers that use AirPlay; and

Game Center, which brings the popular social gaming network from iOS to the Mac so you can enjoy live, multiplayer games with friends whether they’re on a Mac, iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

Additional features in Mountain Lion include the revolutionary new Gatekeeper, which makes downloading software from the Internet safer; Power Nap, which automatically updates your apps and system while your Mac is asleep; and a faster Safari® browser. New features for China include significantly improved text input, a new Chinese Dictionary, easy setup with popular email providers, Baidu search in Safari, and built-in sharing to Sina Weibo and popular video websites Youku and Tudou.

Pricing & AvailabilityOS X Mountain Lion is available from the Mac App Store for $19.99 (US). Mountain Lion requires Lion or Snow Leopard (OS X v10.6.8 or later), 2GB of memory and 8GB of available space. For a complete list of system requirements and compatible systems, please visit: apple.com/osx/specs. OS X Server requires Mountain Lion and is available from the Mac App Store for $19.99 (US). The OS X Mountain Lion Up-to-Date upgrade is available at no additional charge from the Mac App Store to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after June 11, 2012.

Facebook integration will be available in an upcoming software update to Mountain Lion.